Textile-machine.



C. LEA.

TEXTILE MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 2 m2.

1,153,869. Patentedsept; 1;, 1915.

5 SHEETSSHEE1 1.

Manama? WM f/ wkzw C. LEA.

TEXTILE MACHINE.

APPLICATION HLED JAN. 2. 1912.

1,153,859, Pzlt'vntedfiept. H, 1915.

BSHEETS-SHEET 2.

Q a? (REQQ U ml Mia/52165566.- L mwqjg [Iggy [mi/69ml" C. LEA.

TEXTILE MACHINE.

APPLlCATlON FILED JAN. 2. 1912.

Patent-ed Sept. 14-, 1915.

5 SHEETS SHEET 3.

m5 25 Mar in? $63 v 6'MWJ@ Lea.

C. LEA.

TEXTILE'MACHINE.

APPLlCATlON FILED JAN. 2. 1912. 1 158 869. Pmntedse t. 14, 1915.

5 SHEETS-SHEE14.

8'? Mr A "W11 72 O 1' 7-3 v If? C. LEA.

TEXTILE MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 2. 19l2.

Patentedfiept. 1-1, 1915.-

5 SHEETS--SHEET 5.

CHARLES LEA, OF

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN WARP-DRAWING MACHINE COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

TEXTILE-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 14, 1915.

Application filed January 2, 1912. Serial No. 668,844.

To all an]: am it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES LEA, a citizen of the United States. and a resident of Boston, county of Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, (whose post-office address is corner of Freeport and Beach streets, Dorchester, county of Suffolk, State of Massachusetts,) have invented an Improvement in Textile- Machines, of which the following description, .in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like characters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to textile machines being more particularly though not exclusively concerned with machines for selecting and presenting detached thread-engaging loom elements such as the detached heddles of a metal harness, drop wires of drop heddles, or other like devices for any desired operation, such, for example, as a threading operation.

\Vhile various features of my invention have broad application to other purposes than the drawing-in operation, to illustrate one concrete embodiment of the same, 1 have herein shown a drawing-in machine which will serve to illustrate the principles of the invention.

My invention will be best understood by reference to the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying illustration of one specific embodiment thereof, while its scope will be more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a front elevation of a portion of a drawing-in machine embodying one form of my invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view of a portion of the machine shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is'a front elevation on a larger scale of a part of the machine shown in Fig. 1 and illustrating the relation of the drop wires to their supports; Fig. 4 is a side elevation partly in section showing the stringer bar support at one end of the machine; Fig. is a side elevation of the stringer bar support shown in Fig. 4; Fig. 6

is a section in elevation on the line 66 in Fig. 3; Fig. 7 is a plan partly in section taken on the line 77 in Fig. 3; Fig. 8 is an elevation partly in section showing the auxiliary head for the drop wire separating and feeding shafts; Fig. 9 is a plan view partly broken away showing the lower support for the two banks of drop wires; Fig.

10 is an end elevation partly in section of the auxiliary head taken on the line 1010 in Fig. 8; Fig. 11 shows a pair of drop wires having a formation suitable for use in the described machine; Fig. 12 shows the same drop wires in operative relation to their respective releasing keys; Fig. 13 is a side elevation looking from the outside of the machine with the outside worm and bank of drop wires removed and showing the drop wire positioning and turning worm and the releasing key for the inside bank. Fig. 14 is a section in plan partly broken away taken on the line l t-14 in Fig. 16; Fig. 15 is an end elevation in section taken on the line 15-15 in Fig. 13 and showing the drop wire engaged by the conveying worm before turning; Fig. 16 is a similar section showing the drop wire after turning; and Fig. 17 is a side elevation of the drop wire as shown in Fig. 13'and after it has been turned and threaded and is being discharged.

While the invention, in many of its aspects, is applicable to machines other than warp drawing machines, as well as to warp drawing machines of other types and constructions than the specific one herein shown, I have herein illustrated my invention by embodiment in a well-known type of drawing-in machine which is partially shown in the fragmentary illustration in Figs. 1 and 2.

l The specific construction of the drawingin machine is not essentialv to the purposes of the present invention, the machine here shown being of the same general construction as the well known type of machine shown in patents 755,861, to Field, 871,680 to Field at al., and 862,474 to Hathaway. It being obvious that the selecting and presenting mechanism herein described with suitable modification may be usefully employed with warp drawing and other machines of widely different construction, the details of the machine herein indicated, other than those directly connected with the drop wire separating mechanism, are not illustrated and will only be briefly referred to.

In the illustrated form of machine, as is well known to those skilled in the art, the heddles, reed, warp threads and drop wires, or other similar loom elements which may be employed are supported in a generally parallel arrangement lengthwise the machine upon suitable supports, which supports, except in the case of the drop wires, are not herein shown, but are carried by the main bed or frame 1 of the machine. An appropriate needle 2 or other thread-placing device, together with suitable needle recipro- 'cating mechanism, is carried by the traveling'carriage 3 and caused to traverse the extent of the reed, harnesses, warp, and drop wires and place successive warp threads through the desired heddle eyes and the selected reed dents and drop wires, these being appropriately positioned for that purpose in the needle path by suitable selecting and positioning mechanism.

Between each stroke of the needle, the reed is appropriately opened and positioned by a suitable opening device which may be, for

example, similar to that shown in patent 871,680. At the same time, a predetermined heddle from one of the several harnesses is selected and its eye presented to the passage of the needle by suitable selecting means which, for example, may be the selecting worms 4 (see Fig. 2-) and their operating mechanism of the same general construction as those shown in Patent No. 755,861. Simultaneously, also, a. warp thread or threads is selected from the warp and presented to the needle by thread-selecting devices which are not herein shown, but may be of any usualor suitable type. v

I In the operation of the described form of drawing-in machine, as the carriage travels the needle is projected first through the dents of a suitable supported reed, then through a heddle eye which has been previously positioned for that purpose and then through an appropriately presented drop wire, finally seizing the warp thread-and drawing the same through the drop wire, heddle eye and reed dent on its movement of retraction. The devices for presenting the heddle eyes, drop wires and warp threads and for opening the reed dents are herein supported and carried upon-the traversing carriage so that they move progressively with the warp drawing needle across the extent of the several sets of elements.

Referring now to thedrop wires or drop heddles, as they are sometimes termed, these may be of any suitable or usual construction, the machine being suitably modified for adaptation to different constructions of drop wires. The terms drop heddles and drop wires are used interchangeably to denote generically the thin sheet metal perforated strips of varying construction either to perform a warp stop motion function or a warp stop motion function combined with a heddle function. For illustrative purposes I have herein shown the same equipped for use with a drop wire of the type shown at a in Fig. 11. This is formed with an elongated opening 5 to receive a contact member of the warp stop motion in the loom. In the drawing-in machine this opening is so presented to the needle as to have a thread drawn through the same. Any number of banks or groups may be employed but we have herein shown two such groups arranged each in compacted form and 1n parallel relation one to another.

To maintain the drop wires in the required serial relation in the machine and to transfer them from one point to another, each group is preferably strung upon a suit able rod 6 which passes through the elongated opening 5, each series being then positioned in the machine, as represented by fixing its stringer rod therein. For this purpose there are provided at opposite ends of the machine (see Fig. 1) upright supports 7 and part of the machine and vertically adjustable thereon. with a notched bracket 9 into the notches of which are slipped the ends of the supporting rods 6. The bracket 8 (see Figs. 4 and 5) is provided with depending fork-shaped ends 10 having studs 11 projecting therefrom, over which and inside the heads of the studs the notched ends of the stringer bars are hooked. In this position they may be locked to prevent accidental removal by means of the locking plate 12, the latter ha ving the slot 13 through which the clamping screw 14 passes to engage with the bracket 8. By loosening the screw the looking plate can be slipped up to free the ends of the stringer bars and permit their ready removal at any required time.

In the illustrated form of machine the drop wires of each bank are held in compacted face to face relation and are released one by one from the series by means of a releasing key 15 (Fig. 13), the latter consisting of a head having a helical wing or flange 16 and carried by a releasing rod 17 which passes through a series of perforations in the drop wires, the latter being arranged to form a channel or passage for the reception of the. releasing or actuating rod 17.

In order that the perforations of adjacent drop wires may be thrown out of alinement when the drop wires are installed in the loom the. drop wire (I. (see Fig. 11) has the rod-rereiring perforation 18 located slightly above the rod-receiving perforation 19 for the next adjacent drop wire a. When the rod 17 is inserted through the perforations of the bank of drop wires, as is done prior to their installation in the machine, they assume the staggered relation shown in Figs. 3 and 13, each alternate drop wire being depressed relatively to its neighbor by the difference in spacing of the rod-receiving perforations l8 and 19.

Herein I have provided an auxiliary un- 8 which are attached each to a fixed The support 7 is provided derlying support adapted to support the series of compacted drop wires from underneath so that deflection of the rod 6, as well as ofthe releasing shaft 17, is avoided, due to the weight of the drop wires. This may be provided for in various ways, but herein I have utilized a pair of supporting rods 20 one underlying each bank. These rods are supported by the traveling carriage and are prolonged to underlie the entire compacted series except the foremost drop wires about to undergo separation. The substantial weight of the entire series is therefore borne by these auxiliary supporting rods 20.

In order to adapt the machine to drop wires of various lengths such as are employed in practice, the auxiliary support is made vertically adjustable by reasonably fine stages of adjustment so that it is applicable to any of the usual commercial sizes of drop wire. For this purpose, two rods (see Figs. 8, 9 and 13) are clamped together at opposite ends about the spacing blocks 21 and 22. At one end in the block 21 there is fixed a toothed pin 23 adapted to engage with the teeth 24 formed in one'edge of the upright standard 25 which is secured to the traveling carriage 3 and passes between the two banks ofdrop wires. At the opposite end of the auxiliary support the block 22 is notched to receive the pivoted pawl 26 which is normally pressed by the spring 27 into engagement with the teeth 28 on the plate 29. the latter fixed upon the auxiliary head 30. The auxiliary head 30 is fixed'to move with the carriage 3. being secured to the track bar 31 which connects the carriage 3 and main carriage head 32. The pawl 26 has a depending finger piece 33 so that the pawl can be readily rel ased to withdraw the supporting bars 20 or to adjustably raise or lower them, as may be required.

Preferably the under support 20 termimates just short of the extreme front end of the series so that the foremost members rest wholly upon the releasing shaft and are more readily and certainly controlled by the helical flange thereof. 7

Any suitable means may be employed to pack or to compact the drop wires,but hercin' l have shown a packing carriage 34 (see Figsvl and 3) mount/ed to travel on rollers 35 along the track bar 31. Suitable tcnsioning means are provided, herein in the form of a spiral spring 36 arranged within the winding drum 37 mounted upon the carriage 3 and adapted to exert a constant turning etfortupon the winding drum causing the latter yieldably to wind in the steel strap or other flexible connector 38, the opposite end of which is connected to the eye 39 on the packing carriage. This tends to draw the packing carriage 22 toward the end of the drop wires and press the latter into a compact mass with the foremost member against the head of the releasing key.

To engage and compact the drop wires the carriage is provided with a plurality of followers or packers 40 comprising channel shaped members slidably mounted in the bracket 41 on the packing carriage. Each packing member is provided with teeth 42 (Fig. 7) meshing with a common pinion 43 which permits the packers to move relatively to eachother and equalize the pressure on the two banks of wires when the rows are of unequal length. The releasing rods 17 pass through the channels in the packers and the latter are held in the guiding bracket 41 by the plate 44 (Fig. To assist in maintaining the alinement of the packing carriage and to prevent it from binding or cramping, a roller 45 journaled on an upright axis on the carriage 34 is provided (Fig. (3) between and adapted to contact with the two supporting rods 20.

Each packer slide is provided with a stop pin 46 by which its movement is limited when the pin engages a notched recess 47 (Figs. 3 and 7) in the standard 25. This point is preferably.reached when there are but a very few of the drop wires left in the unseparated bank so that the packer while effective for substantially the entire bank of drop wires is prevented from striking the re leasing key 16.

The stringer bar is engaged by a notched plate 48 (Figs. 3 and 6) secured to the packer carriage 34 which maintains alinement between the bars and carriage and also assists in alining and supporting the bar when installed in the machine. The bracket 48 is secured by the bolt 49 passing through a slot in the bracket so that the latter may be raised or lowered as required and if desired may be used also to afford an underlying support for the stringer bar and prevent detlection thereof.

Referring now to the releasing key, the wing or key 16 terminates in an abrupt shoulder which is in constant engagement with the foremost 'drop wire of the series. The perforations 18 and 19 are provided with enlargements 50 and 51 similar in shape, but oppositely arranged so that by forn'ling the bank from drop wires having an upwardly directed enlargement like 50, an outwardly directed enlargement like 51, the continued rotation of the releasing key serves to release successive drop wires one for each half revolution. Each drop wire when released is fed along by the helical wing 16.

Any suitable presenting mechanism may be employed to engage the released drop wire and position and turn it to receive the thread, but herein there is provided for each bank of drop wires a conveying worm 52 secured to the worm shaft 53 so located as to operate at the side of each bank of drop wires, preferably below the needle path and the releasing key. journaled at one end of the auxiliary head 30 and at the other end in the upright arm or bracket 53*.

As shown in Fig. 13 the releasing key and conveying worm are preferably arranged in slightly overlapping relation so that prior to discharge from the releasing key the lower end of the drop wire is engaged by the conveying worm 52'. I discharged from the releasing key the drop wires are caused to drop down into the groove of the conveying worm, as shown in Figs. 13 and 5, thereafter remaining suspended from the stringerbar 6. The conveying worm 52 is deeply grooved so that it readily receives the drop ,wirc endwise and conveys it to a position where it can be turned and presented to the needle. Herein the turning and positioning of the drop wire is accomplished by the positioning worm 54 which is also secured to the worm shaft 53 adjacent the conveying worm 52. The turning worm is provided with flanged faces 55 and 56, the inner or leading one of which has a radial slot or opening 57 to receive the edge of the advancing drop wire, as is indicated in Fig. 15. This opens into a recess 58 which is deepened toward the face 56 and soshaped that as the drop wire enters the slot is gradually turned by the recess 58 which is appropriately shaped for that purpose and into the position shown in Fig. 16 where it is faced with the threading opening squarely presented to the drawing-in needle 2.

charged and threaded The two positioning and turning worms work on either side of the upright standard 25 and the latter provides an abutment against which (Fig. 14:) the drop wire is forced by the turning worm and between which and the worm it is rigidly held in a fiatwise faced condition. The flanges 55 and 56 of the worm are caused one to overlap the end of the wall 25 and the other to enter a slot 59 therein so that the drop wire is held rigidly between the abutting portion of the wall, the two flanges and the face of the turning worm.

. After the retraction of the .lrawingin needle the continued movement of the worm forces the threaded drop wire therefrom by engagement with the wire of the beveled endportio'n 60, the position of the disdrop wire being shown in Fig. 17.

Heretofore where separate banks. or groups of the drop wires have been em ployed in drawiug-in machines, it has been customary to draw a thread first througha drop wire presented from one bank and then through a drop wire presented from the other bank and so on. I have herein Each worm shaft is When a drop wire provided means, however, whereby the drop wires may be threaded in any required order of succession. In the present form of machine two drop wires in succession are first threaded from one bank, then two in succession from the second bank and then two in succession from the first bank, and so on. This order may be varied, however, and the drop wires may be drawn three and three, or four and four, or any required number instead of two and two, as described. This method of drawing is frequently desirable in connection with skip shaft work where .in order to prevent the count or number of threads per inch from running too high on each heddle, each set of heddles is divided between two separate harnesses arranged in parallel but connected in the loom to lift together as a single harness. Under these circumstances it is advantageous to have all the drop wires for one pair of connected harnesses in one bank and the drop wire for the other pair in'another bank.

10 provide for drawing a plurality of drop wires in succession from each bank, suitable mechanism is provided for timing the rotation and controlling the direction of movement of the releasing shafts 17.

In the described form of machine the two worm shafts are timed to make one full revolution for each thread drawing, while the two releasing shafts (which release a drop wire for each semi-revolution) are timed to make one full revolution for every two thread drawings. The releasing shafts, however, are caused to oscillate in opposite directions so that (see Fig. 12) as one turns right-handedly, the other is turning lefthandedly. Since the helical wing 16 has a left-handed lead, a left-handed rotation only is effective in releasing the foremost drop wire as the shoulder on the wing comes into registration with the releasing opening 50 or 51. The releasing shoulders are located 180 apart on, the two releasing shafts, the result being that as the left-handedly-rotated shaft turns through one full revolution it first releases and feeds to the worm and then half a revolution later releases and feeds a second drop wire. The rotation of the two shafts being then reversed the remaining shaft, which has been turned right-haudedly and has thereby held back its bank of drop wires, is caused to release the first and subsequently the second drop wire as its shaft is turned left-handedly through a complete revolution. The result is that two successive drop wires are fed from each bank in-alternation, these drop wires being presented each to be threaded by the needle in the order in which they are released.

To secure the required rotation of the worm shafts and releasing shafts, suitable transmission gearing is provided upon the auxiliary head 30, thisbeing operated by means of a common actuating shaft 70 which extends to the main head 32 where it is turned by suitable driving mechanism thereat, the latter being of the construction commonly employed upon this type of ma chine and controlled coordinately through suitable and usual pattern mechanism with the heddle and thread separating and positioning shafts.

At the auxiliary head 30 the actuating shaft 70 is connected through a universal joint 71 with the shaft 72 carrying the small pinion 73, the latter meshing with the larger gear 74. The latter in turn is provided with the eccentrically arranged pin 75 working in the slotted arm 76 carried by the vertical slide 77 whereby the latter is given a vertical reciprocatory movement. The upper end of the slide has its opposite sides provided with teeth 78 which mesh with the small pinions 79 imparting to the latter equal but opposite rotation. Each pinion is secured to a shaft 80 to which the releasing shaft 17 may be removably attached by. means of the chuck 81 from which it can be readily withdrawn for the purpose of removal from the machine. One releasing shaft being driven by one pinionand the other by the remaining pinion, the releasing shafts are thereby turned as described in opposite directions and the gearing is so'designed that each releasing shaft is given one full revolution for each two' revolutions of the worm shaft.

To turn the worm shaft 53 the shaft 72 is caused to turn a gear 82 which meshes with a gear 83 of equal size each gear being secured to one of the shafts This causes the two worm shafts to be constantly turned at the same speed and in the appropriate direction and so related to the driving mechanism of the machine that each worm is given onefull revolution for each thread drawing.

\Vhile I have herein shown and described for pu poses of illustration one specific embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the same is not limited to the form or.relative arrangement of parts or the details of construction shown, but that extensive deviations may be made therefrom without departing from the spirit thereof.

Claims 1. In a machine for selecting and positioning detached, thread-receiving loom elements, the combination with a rotary releasing device effective when operating in one direction only, and means for imparting a reciproc'atory movement of rotation to said device.

2. In a machine for selecting and positioning detached thread-receiving loom ele ments, the combination with means for holding a plurality of groups of such' elements,

'rotary releasing means cooperating with each group and effective when rotating in one direction only, and means for rotating said releasing means'in opposite directions and for successively reversing the direction of rotation of each.

3. In a machine for selecting and positioning detached, thread-receiving loom elements, the combination with a stringer bar of an underlying support for said elements, said support being vertically adjustable to provide for elements of varying lengths.

4. In a machine of the class described, means for holding a plurality of threadreceiving loom elements in compact mass, said means having provision for the reception of elements of varying lengths and means for selecting said elements singly from the mass.

5. In a machine for releasing and positioning drop wires, the combination with means for holding the drop wires in compacted series, of an underlying support and means including a toothed holder providing for vertical adjustment of said support.

6. In a machine of the class described, the combination with means for holding in compact relation a plurality of series of threadreceiving loom elements, of a unitary vertically adjustable support for said several series.

7. In a machine of the class described, the combination with means for holding in compact relation a plurality of series of thread-receivin loom elements, of an underlying support for said several series.

8. In a machine for selecting and positioning thread-receiving loom elements, the combination with means for holding in compact relation a series of said elements, a separating device engaging the foremost members of the series, and an underlying support terminating short of the end of the series.

9. In a machine of the class described, the combination with means for holding in compact relation a plurality of thread-receiving loom elements of an internally arranged element releasing shaft and an underlying support sustaining the weight of said elements and said shaft.

10. In a machine of the class described, the combination with an underlying drop wire supporting bar of a packer carriage and a roller guide on'said carriage engaging said bar.

11. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a plurality of underlying drop wire supporting bars for sustaining separate groups of drop wires, a packer carriage and a roller on said carriage between said bars.

12. In a machine of the class described,

- mechanism of a packer carriage and means fixed with relation to said separating mechanism for moving said packer carriage to pack the drop wires.

14. In a machine of the class described, the combination With a traveling carriage, drop wires separating mechanism and a drawing-in needle on said carriage, a drop wire packing member and means on said carriage for moving said packing member to packthe drop wires.

15. In a machine of the class described,

the combination with a drop Wire releasing device, a packing member to pack the drop wires toward the releasing device, and means to limit the movement of the packer to prevent engagement with the releasing device.

16. In a machine of the class described,

the combination with a drop Wire releasing member, a packing member and a stop for the packing member.

17. In a warp drawing machine, the c0mbination with a drop wire positioning shaft, a drop wire releasing shaft, of means for reversing the rotation of the drop Wire releasing shaft while giving the drop Wire positioning shaft 'a unidirectional rotation.

18. In a machine-of the class described, the combination with a support for de tached, thread-receiving, loom elements, of a rotary device having a key provided with a helical flange effective for releasing an element when rotating in one direction only and means for rotating said device alternately in opposite directions.

19. In a machine for selecting and positioning detached, thread-receiving, loom elements, the combination with means for holding a plurality of groups of such elements, of a rotary releasing device for each group having a helical wing effective for releasing an element when rotating in one direction only; and means for rendering in alternation the releasing means of each group effective for releasing a plurality of elements while the releasing means for the remaining group is ineffective.

20. In a machine for selecting and positioning detached, thread-receiving, loom elements,'the combination with means for holding said elements in compact mass of a rotary releasing rod 17 having a flange 16 effective for releasing an element when rotating in one direction only and means for rotating said rod alternately in opposite directions.

21. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a support for a series of drop wires, adjacent wires having perforations provided with oppositely arranged enlargements, of a rotary releasing rod within said perforations and having provision for alternate registration with said enlargements for successively releasing said drop wires on rotation of said rod in one direction only and means for rotating said rod alternately in opposite directions.

22. In a machine for selecting and positioning detached thread-receiving loom elements comprising thin, flat, sheet metal plates, the combination with a stringer bar on which the same is suspended, means for compacting said elements thereon, an underlying support for said elements, said support being vertically adjustable to provide for elements of varying lengths, and means for releasing said elements singly from said compact mass.

In a machine of the class described,

the combination with means for holding in compact relation, a plurality of series of thread-receiving loom elements comprising thin, flat, sheet metal plates, of a unitary vertically adjustable support for said several series, and means for releasing said elements singly from each series.

24. In a machine of the class described, the combination with supports for a plurality of sets of detached thread receiving loom elements'of a rotary device for each set having a key provided with a helical flange effective for releasing an element when rotating in one direction only, means for rotating one of said devices in a direction to release one or more successive elements of one set while rotating the remaining device to hold unreleased the elements of the remaining set, and means for reversing the direction of rotation of both of said devices.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES LEA.

Witnesses:

'lnoMAs B. Boo'rir, Evnnn'r'r S. EMERY. 

